Finishing school: All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman wants to sprint through the tape of this year, proving he can sustain an .839 OPS at a position young players often wear down in the second half.
Avoiding ignominy: After a 9-50 start buried them in a historic hole, the Rockies have improved to the point they are right on the cut line to break the Chicago White Sox’s one-year-old modern record of 121 losses, a “chase” that should come down to the last week of the season.
And of utmost importance, taking steps to ensure it doesn’t get any worse in 2026.
“These next two months, obviously it doesn’t look like we’re making the postseason this year, but we gotta act like it,” center fielder Mickey Moniak tells USA TODAY Sports. “Act like we’re making that run just to grow as a team and get better.
“And make sure next year, we’re in a spot where we can compete and have something like this year not happen again.”
For now, this year remains to be fully defined. At 27-78, the Rockies’ .257 winning percentage puts them just ahead of the White Sox’s .253 mark, although that’s a little deceiving. Chicago was 27-82 before the trade deadline, then proceeded to lose 24 of 28 games after its roster was strip-mined, digging a hole that not even a respectable September could overcome.
The Rockies’ long, hard goodbyes have only begun: Third baseman Ryan McMahon, their best all-around player, was dealt to the New York Yankees on July 25, and more players could be on their way out before the July 31 deadline.
Uncomfortably numb
On the field, the Rockies will have to plug holes, shift roles and find production from new faces. Off it, the psychic drag of bidding their best farewell is yet another hurdle.
“It feels like it happens so often, you almost grow numb to it,” says reliever Jake Bird, who debuted in 2022. “Mac’s an awesome guy. It was great having him around. A great player, especially on the defensive end. It’s just the nature of the business. It’s almost next man up.
“It sucks, but it’s part of the business. A new day and you gotta go out and compete.”
Says Moniak, whose .865 OPS likely means he’s found a permanent home in Colorado: “Mac’s been a Rockie his whole life. I’ve been here for a few months, just this year, and you instantly get the feel how much he he meant to this organization and the guys in this clubhouse.
“He was probably the leader of this team. Losing a guy like that, we’re going to miss him. But also at the end of the day, the organization made a decision they felt was best for it.
“I’m very excited for Mac to have the opportunity to go play in New York and try to hunt down a postseason this year and a World Series.”
Interim manager Warren Schaefer echoes that, noting his charges’ happiness for McMahon’s opportunities – he hit a game-tying two-run double at Yankee Stadium on Sunday – while lamenting his departure.
“I think they’ve processed it well. I think they understand,” says Schaefer, who’s posted a 20-44 record after Bud Black got off to a 7-33 start, resulting in the firing of Colorado’s all-time winningest manager. “At the same time, there’s a part of every guy in that clubhouse – especially the ones who have been with him for a long time – there’s a bit of sadness that he’s gone.
“I think that’s natural with a friend. But it’s not like he’s gone forever.”
The four days to come before the 6 p.m. ET deadline will be curious. Colorado has a bevy of veteran starters, yet none of them – Antonio Senzatela (6.68 ERA), left-hander Kyle Freeland (5.24) and German Marquez (5.67, on injured list with biceps injury) – have consistently distinguished themselves.
Bullpen arms are always in demand, yet Bird and current closer Seth Halvorsen have multiple years of club control remaining, with peripheral stats that may not compel contenders to pay a premium for those future years.
It’s a similar situation with a handful of veteran position players, whose acquisitions wouldn’t necessarily make anyone’s list of “MLB Trade Deadline Winners,” but would nonetheless leave holes on an inexperienced team grasping for any sense of consistency.
‘We’ve gotta learn how to win’
It’s already a lineup filled with folks like DH Yanquiel Fernandez, who debuted on July 2, and first baseman Warming Bernabel, who was recalled after the McMahon trade and homered in his second career game.
The progress comes in the likely keepers the club has identified. Moniak, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 by the Philadelphia Phillies, has, at 27, perhaps finally found a groove with his third team in four seasons.
While he lacks the All-Star berth McMahon once earned, he and other Rockies have seen some things in their career arcs that have value to the less experienced.
“Baseball’s kind of a revolving door of wisdom,” says Moniak. “All of us in here consider us family. Obviously, guys who have more time and been through more experiences can kind fo share that knowledge with the younger guys and pass on stuff that older guys pass on to them.”
For Goodman, it’s a matter of building on a season that, other than a soft May, has resulted in monthly OPSes of .829, 1.108 and .814. He’s caught 65 games and served as DH for 28 others, with an eye toward preserving his offensive vitality.
“I want to keep building off that. I want to play a full season, not just that first half,” says Goodman, a fourth-round pick in 2021 from the University Memphis who has stuck in his third season with Colorado. “Since the second half started, as a team we’ve started playing better. There’s a lot of confidence in the locker room.
“We’ve got a really young team. We gotta learn to play the game the right way and learn how to win some ballgames.”
Preferably, one more than 41, the better to avoid the wrong sort of history. It is what will pass as drama for outside observers as the schedule drains away
Within the Rockies’ realm, the growth chart is far more difficult to measure, particularly if the team becomes even less recognizable after the deadline. How best to measure an ethos when the record is so grim?
“Continuing to play baseball the right way. Stringing two months together of mostly playing nine-inning games, full games,” says Schaeffer. “Playing aggressive baseball. The goal when I’m evaluating on a day-to-day basis is the style of play. The intent of what we’re doing at the plate.
“Just seeing progress in all facets on a daily basis.”
And hopefully, never having to do this again.